Historical Church Records

Rectors of Bury from 1189

A Parish Church has existed for centuries on this site and thousands of baptisms, weddings and funerals have been held in the present and past church buildings.

Bury Parish Church holds records from 1940 onwards, the records from before then are held at Manchester Central Library. The Central Library was closed for a four-year refurbishment and has now re-opened as of 22 March 2014. Our records from before 1940 were held there prior to the Library's closure and we understand they are back there now.

Records require lots of space and must be kept securely, in controlled temperature, humidity and light levels, so it is no longer possible to store all our ancient records at the church.

You may also wish to visit: www.ancestry.co.uk and www.findmypast.co.uk which are on-line resources for family history documents and family trees. Many church records are now available on the Ancestry.co.uk website and although you can pay a subscription to use the site, access is free from any library run by Manchester City council or Bury Metropolitan Borough Council.